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Jude Bellingham delivered an X-rated assessment of Real Madrid’s current situation after seeing them suffer another damaging defeat to Manchester City. The Blancos went down 2-1 against Premier League opponents in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with Bellingham admitting that the Liga giants must “take a bit of sh*t on the chin” in an ongoing bid to find form.

Real Madrid form: Blancos have hit a slump

Real have won just two of their last eight matches in all competitions, drawing and losing three apiece. Their last domestic fixture, against Celta Vigo, saw them reduced to nine men before the final whistle blew.

They were able to keep 11 on the field when playing host to City, but found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline. Real did take the lead at Santiago Bernabeu through Brazilian forward Rodrygo, but trailed by half-time courtesy of Nico O’Reilly and a penalty from prolific Norwegian striker Erling Haaland.

AdvertisementAFPBellingham sounds X-rated Real Madrid rallying cry

Pressure continues to build on Blancos boss Xabi Alonso as a result of that European setback, with it being suggested that the World Cup winner – who only returned to Madrid over the summer – is already fighting to save his job.

He is said to endure a strained relationship with a number of senior stars, including former Ballon d’Or contender Vinicius Junior. Quizzed on whether he still has faith in his beleaguered manager, Bellingham told : “One hundred per cent. The manager has been great. I personally have a great relationship with him and I know a lot of the lads do too.

“After that first run of games where we drew a few, we had some really great conversations internally and felt we'd put that form behind us but the last couple of games we've let ourselves down again. No one is downing tools, no one is complaining and moaning and thinking the season is over. We will have to take a bit of the sh*t on the chin, keep fighting and bouncing forward.”

What has gone wrong for Real? Bellingham explains

Bellingham was also asked why Real’s form has taken a serious nosedive since claiming a Clasico victory over arch-rivals Barcelona in late October and hitting top spot in the Liga table. The England international added: “We're still trying to work it out within the changing room regardless of what goes on outside. We know that's not helpful.

“One thing is how we're managing games. Certain points where we have to suffer it feels like we always concede and it puts us on the back foot and makes us have to play a way we don't want to.

“But in the changing room we have what we need to turn it around, we need maybe a bit of luck or maybe something we need to discuss internally. I have faith this season isn't over just because we're in a bad run of form.”

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GettyManagerial change? Alonso facing sack threat

While Alonso continues to dominate headlines in Spain, with many of those casting the 44-year-old ex-Madrid midfielder in a dim light, Real’s head coach insists that he should not be the centre of attention.

He is eager to point out that everybody connected with the Blancos will be doing their best to turn collective fortunes around. Alonso said when asked if he is worried about his future in the wake of a disappointing loss to City: “I’m worried about the next game. Here the important thing is Real Madrid. It’s the team, the players and how I can help them. The issue is not about me.”

Alonso may want to divert attention away from himself, but he will continue to fall under the brightest of spotlights. He is in the results business, while filling one of the most demanding managerial roles on the planet, and knows that he needs to get Real firing again.

His next opportunity to do just that will arrive on Sunday when the Blancos head to Alaves. That is one of three fixtures left on Real’s schedule in 2025, with it yet to be determined whether Alonso will make the new year in his current role.

Tony Bloom, who is the majority owner and chairman of Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, has been accused of running a 'secret £600 million ($800m) betting syndicate', with some of the accounts used alleged to belong to a former chief of staff of Reform UK MP Nigel Farage.

Farage aide fronted Bloom’s betting syndicate, court hears

A high court document has alleged that George Cottrell, a close associate of Reform leader Farage, was in charge of a major gambling syndicate that was "given control" of his betting accounts. It is also alleged Cottrell acted as a "stalking horse", as report, for a syndicate involving Bloom, according to the public documents filed at the high court. A 19-page file is part of an active dispute between Bloom and Ryan Dudfield, a former associate whose lawyers argue is owed gambling profits in the estimate region of £189m ($250m). The collective is known as Starlizard Betting Syndicate and is said to make around £600m each year in winnings, with bets being placed on the accounts of "footballers, sportsmen and businessmen", the documents claim.

AdvertisementAFP'Cottrell lost large sums of money'

"Cottrell was not a particularly successful gambler, and frequently lost large sums of money," it is further added, and "Mr Cottrell had given control of his betting accounts to Mr Bloom and the Syndicate so that it was not necessary for bets to be sent to Mr Cottrell for him to place". While the syndicates total winnings are unknown, Dudfield has claimed he could be owed as much as $17.5m, as a profits-share deal apparently entitles him to 7% of its winnings.

"The claimant was told…that the syndicate’s use of Mr Cottrell’s betting accounts had ceased," the documents allege. "In fact Mr McAleavy and Mr Cottrell both knew that the Syndicate was continuing to make use of Mr Cottrell’s betting accounts and they both knew that very significant profits had/could be made as a result of the bets that had been placed and were to be placed."

Who is Brighton owner Tony Bloom?

Brighton chairman Bloom is one of the world's most successful gamblers, having built a large amount of his fortune through poker and other related activities in the industry. A longtime Seagulls fan, Bloom became the club's chairman in 2009 and soon secured a 75% shareholding stake of the club, investing £93m to aid the development of the AMEX Stadium. He has helped the south coast club rise from an average League One team to Premier League regulars, with the Albion impressing around Europe with their vastly successful scouting system. Brighton have made considerable profits after signing and selling the likes of Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister, Yves Bissouma, Joao Pedro, Marc Cucurella and Ben White. His side enjoyed a positive first season under Fabian Hurzeler last term, finishing eighth and only four points off the European qualification places, and could go as high as third in the Premier League table on Wednesday night if they manage to beat Aston Villa.

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Getty Images SportWhat comes next?

Lawyers who are acting on behalf of Cottrell and Bloom have been approached for comment, while Bloom is yet to file a defence against the claim. As for Brighton's on-field matters, they will soon head into a hectic festive schedule packed with fixtures. After their clash with Villa, they take on West Ham United, Liverpool, Sunderland, Arsenal and West Ham again before 2026 rolls in. 

There’s reportedly no way back for one West Ham star as Nuno Espírito Santo ultimately decides that he doesn’t want the player, and a January exit is now described as inevitable.

The pressure on Nuno’s shoulders has slightly eased following back-to-back victories against Newcastle and Burnley, which also gifted the Hammers some much-needed encouragement over surviving the relegation dog scrap.

Before their only consecutive home wins since October last year, West Ham looked nailed on for a drop to the Championship for the first time since 2011, but six points from Nuno’s last two matches have suddenly flipped the narrative on its head.

However, things don’t get any easier for West Ham from this point onward, with Nuno braced for a tough round of fixtures just after the international break.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

West Ham 3-1 Newcastle

West Ham 3-2 Burnley

The east Londoners take on Bournemouth and Liverpool before travelling to Man United, who are enjoying a resurgence under Ruben Amorim, with Aston Villa and Premier League title contenders Man City awaiting them over the festive period as well.

After that, the January transfer window does represent a major lifeline for West Ham, and reports suggest the club are set for a very active winter when it comes to incomings and outgoings. Sky Sports report that West Ham are targeting a new defender, midfielder and striker in January, with Nuno given assurances that David Sullivan and co have money to spend on fresh talent.

We’re also likely to see a fair few players head out the exit door, not least striker Niclas Füllkrug, who has apparently been given the green-light to leave after a lacklustre spell marred by injuries and a lack of form.

West Ham could also sell Guido Rodriguez for pure profit after signing him on a free transfer from Real Betis last year, but one player who looks the most likely to depart by far is midfielder James Ward-Prowse.

The 31-year-old was axed from West Ham’s matchday squad immediately after Nuno’s arrival, despite being vice-captain under Graham Potter and a “quiet leader” of the team.

James Ward-Prowse "almost certain" to leave West Ham after Nuno decision

For anybody wondering, there is basically no chance for Ward-Prowse to play his way back into contention, with Nuno fully deciding that he’s surplus to requirements.

That is according to journalist Dean Jones, who told TEAMtalk this week that the Englishman is “almost certain” to leave as David Moyes’ Everton take real interest.

The question for West Ham is how much money they can recuperate from Ward-Prowse’s sale, and how much could be reinvested into bolstering key areas when the January window opens for business.

Sullivan will also be keen to get the former Southampton star’s £115,000-per-week wages off the books, as he is currently the club’s fourth-highest earner behind Alphonse Areola, Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen.

Chelsea are now looking to sign an “outstanding” experienced centre-back who’s won 11 trophies, having struggled defensively at times this season.

Blues fall to ninth after Sunderland setback

Enzo Maresca has been forced to contend with a number of injury problems already this season, with the manager particularly light on options in defence, given the absence of Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile, who are both set to be out for quite some time.

Colwill is a long-term absentee, having suffered an ACL injury in the summer, while Maresca has confirmed Badiashile won’t be back for another couple of months, saying: “Benoit will be out until December. He is injured again with a muscle problem. He was doing fantastic, showing how good he is, and we will wait for him.”

That said, the manager is still likely to be concerned by just how susceptible his team have been to conceding chances, with Nottingham Forest missing four big opportunities and hitting the woodwork last weekend.

The Blues got away with it against Forest, but Sunderland made them pay on Saturday, with the Black Cats emerging as 2-1 winners at Stamford Bridge, which means the hosts have fallen to ninth in the Premier League table.

As such, Maresca may need to bolster his backline if Chelsea are to transform into title contenders, and they are now looking to sign Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano, who is facing an uncertain future at the Allianz Arena.

That is according to a report from CF Bayern, which states the west Londoners want to sign Upamecano in 2026, at which point his contract with the German club will have expired, having been unable to agree a new deal.

Chelsea now join race to sign "hugely impressive" £70m Champions League forward

A new forward has emerged as a target for the Blues.

ByDominic Lund Oct 26, 2025

With the Blues potentially looking to offload ‘bomb squad’ member Axel Disasi, a new centre-back could be brought in to replace him, and the Bayern defender has been identified as a target, although there could be competition from Real Madrid.

"Outstanding" Upamecano could be exactly what Maresca needs

Jamie Carragher has made it clear just how much he disagrees with BlueCo’s recruitment policy of signing young players, saying: “Chelsea should be title contenders and considered Champions League challengers this season. Instead, their hierarchy seems content to be praised for being the smartest recruiters in the business – the world’s richest development club.”

In fairness, while Chelsea did win the Club World Cup in the summer, the model is yet to translate to success in the Premier League, and more experienced players are arguably needed if they are to become title contenders.

As such, the “outstanding” France international, as lauded by Joshua Kimmich, could be exactly what they need, given that he is experienced at the top level, winning 11 major trophies throughout his career, and the 27-year-old’s passing ability indicates he could be an ideal fit in a Maresca system.

Statistic

Average per 90 (past year)

Passes attempted

89.32 (99th percentile)

Pass completion %

93.4% (96th percentile)

Progressive passes

6.39 (95th percentile)

The £168k-a-week star’s potential availability on a free transfer is an added bonus for Chelsea, who clearly need greater strength in depth at the back, given that 19-year-old Josh Acheampong has emerged as a regular starter.

Newcastle United head into another Champions League tie in mid-week off the back of a disappointing result in the Premier League on the road.

Before facing off against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in mid-October, and convincingly putting them to the sword 3-0 in Europe’s illustrious competition, the Toon had come up short away at Brighton and Hove Albion in a 2-1 loss on the South Coast.

Eddie Howe will hope he gets a similar response out of his troops when Athletic Club travel to Tyneside on Wednesday night, as Newcastle’s “passive” afternoon against the Hammers – as journalist Craig Hope put it – resulted in the away side coming away empty-handed from the London Stadium in a 3-1 loss.

Howe will have been left with lots to chew over from that defeat, as he cut a forlorn figure after the match, while Nuno Espirito Santo jumped for joy, as he momentarily stopped the West Ham rot.

The changes Eddie Howe must make vs Athletic Club

The usually mild-mannered Howe blasted his team’s performance as “unrecognisable” of what Newcastle is all about. Indeed, as Toon great Alan Shearer noted post-match, it was a “leggy” performance rather than an energetic one.

Joelinton, again, showed signs of his worrying decline against Nuno’s hosts, as the quiet Brazilian won just three of his seven duels during the 3-1 defeat.

Off the back of such a lifeless showing, both Lucas Paqueta and Freddie Potts dominated proceedings centrally for the East Londoners, as Paqueta scored a long-range bullet to level the match in the first half, while Potts also managed to win one more duel than the below-par number seven, on what was his first league start of the season.

He could be in danger of being dropped for the coming clash with the La Liga outfit; therefore, with Anthony Gordon also at risk of the axe, having lasted just 45 minutes at the London Stadium, before being taken off.

With no goals or assists next to his name in the Premier League this season, it isn’t a shock to see journalist Charlie Bennett state that the ex-Everton winger is “not undroppable”, heading into the St James’ Park clash on Wednesday.

But, as much as it’s slightly contentious whether the likes of Gordon and Joelinton will actually be dropped, it feels a far more pressing matter that this duo must be axed from the starting XI immediately.

Newcastle duo must never play together again

Halloween might well have been done for another year when West Ham and Newcastle locked horns, but the Toon’s defensive performance was still scarily below-par.

Heading into the showdown at the London Stadium, the relegation-threatened hosts had only managed to score a meagre seven Premier League goals all season long.

But, with Howe selecting Emil Krafth and Dan Burn as his two full-back options, the Hammers were in luck going forward, as can be seen by looking at their disastrous performances in greater detail.

Indeed, combined, the makeshift full-back partnership managed to win zero tackles and won just two of their seven duels.

Krafth would, thankfully, be put out of his misery at the half-time interval, but – when he was still on the pitch – he also failed to muster up one single successful dribble to try and turn his faltering team more of a front-foot threat.

Burn lasted the full 90 minutes, though, with the Blyth-born battler also failing to complete a single successful dribble, on top of squandering possession a costly 14 times.

As one analyst put it at the final whistle, both the underperforming number 17 and number 33 are more “centre-back profiles”, with Newcastle becoming “less dynamic” this season as a result of these two options being regularly chosen as limited full-backs.

Howe will pray he can call upon Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall in these problem areas, soon, with Hall back on the substitutes bench against the Hammers, after a lengthy spell out with an injury.

Kieran Trippier could also be available again for the test of Ernesto Valverde’s men on Wednesday night, as Howe now tries to put together a coherent XI, that removes the possibility of Krafth and Burn lining up as a car-crash duo.

Worse than Pope: Howe must drop Newcastle star who lost 100% ground duels

Eddie Howe has a lot of Newcastle United selection decisions to ponder over after his side collapsed to a 3-1 loss away at West Ham United.

ByKelan Sarson Nov 3, 2025

Leeds United have started well in the Premier League, after bouncing back to the top flight for the first time in two years. Daniel Farke’s side have been something of a yo-yo team in recent times, with this being their fourth campaign in the top flight in the last seven seasons.

The Whites only just managed to stay in the Premier League in the 2021/22 campaign, ending 17th that season, after a strong finish of ninth the year before.

The man who kept them up by the skin of their teeth four years ago was Jesse Marsch, who was eventually dismissed despite some statement signings during his tenure.

Marsch’s prominent signings at Leeds

51-year-old Marsch brought 11 new faces to Elland Road during his time at the club. One of those, goalkeeper Joel Robles, was a free transfer, and another joined on loan, with Weston McKennie switching Juventus for Leeds for six months in 2023.

The most expensive addition that the Wisconsin-born manager made during his time as Leeds boss was Georginio Rutter. The Frenchman was, and still is, the club’s record signing from German side Hoffenheim. He cost the Whites £35.5m back in January 2023.

Nowadays, the former Leeds striker plays for Premier League rivals Brighton and Hove Albion, where he moved for £40m. He has 14 goals and assists for the Seagulls so far, and is yet to get close to his Leeds tally of 26 goal involvements.

Not only did Marsch purchase Leeds’ most expensive player of all time, but he also bought the man second on that list. Brenden Aaronson cost the Yorkshire outfit £24.7m in 2022 and is still at the club today.

The attacker has chipped in with 15 goals and assists in 95 games.

Aaronson is not the only Marsch signing still plying his trade at Leeds. There is another player now worth far more than what they paid for him.

The Marsch signing whose value has skyrocketed

There are certainly some of the signings made by Marsch which have turned out to be good additions to Leeds’ squad. Rutter, for example, saw the club make a healthy £5m profit on the deal, and Aaronson is a key player under Farke today.

Well, perhaps the biggest success story of the lot has been Italian attacker Wilfried Gnonto. The 21-year-old has been a Leeds player for some time now, joining the club back in 2022 at the end of the transfer window. He cost just £3.8m from Swiss side FC Zurich.

Throughout his time at Elland Road, Gnonto has shown why Leeds invested in him despite being just 18 years of age at the time. In 123 games for the Whites so far, Gnonto has found the back of the net 22 times and assisted 14 goals.

His best season for the Yorkshire giants came in the 202425 campaign, where they got promoted back to the Premier League. Gnonto played a huge part in their Championship title win, scoring nine times and assisting six in 43 games.

To further reinforce Gnonto’s quality in a Leeds shirt, take a look at some of his underlying numbers from the Championship last term.

One of the standout stats is the 4.27 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes he created, which placed him in the top 6% of forwards in the second tier.

Gnonto – 24/25 Championship
Stat (per 90)	Number	Percentile vs. attackers
Goals and assists	0.59	94th
Key passes	1.82	84th
Progressive passes	4.9	92nd
Shot-creating actions	4.27	94th
Carries into final third	2.41	90th
Stats from FBref

With all that in mind, it might not be a surprise to learn that the value of the “explosive” winger, as football scout Antonio Mango called him, has absolutely skyrocketed. He has certainly improved leaps and bounds since the Whites paid the cut-price fee of £3.8m three years ago.

Nowadays, according to Football Transfers, the Italian youngster is worth an impressive £22.8m, a higher amount than anyone in the Leeds squad. That is an eye-watering increase of 500% from the original deal the Yorkshire side got.

Gnonto has certainly been worth the cheap fee that the Whites paid for him three summers ago. Given the fact that he is just 21 years of age, there is still plenty of time for his value to shoot up and for the impressive performances to continue.

Leeds ace who's been a "massive signing" would walk into Bielsa's best team

This current-day Leeds United star would walk into Marcelo Bielsa’s best team.

By
Dan Emery

Oct 9, 2025

Usman Qadir impressed with the ball to derail Islamabad’s chase

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-May-2025Finn Allen, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, and Faheem Ashraf crashed significant scores at a strike rate of better than 150. And when these four batters had propelled Quetta Gladiators to a total of 209 for 6, their bowlers locked the game down through the middle overs, sending Islamabad United eventually to 179 all out.Gladiators advance to the final, deservedly. Not only have they won this match by a significant margin, they had also easily topped the league ahead of the playoffs, winning seven of their ten matches. United now have to face the winner of Thursday night’s eliminator – between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars – in Qualifier 2.The Chandimal-Ashraf spectacularIf you want one reason why Gladiators bossed this game, it is the period between overs 11.6 and 19.5, when Chandimal and Ashraf were at the crease. Chandimal clobbered 48 not out off 28 balls, Ashraf hit 45 off 23, and the pair (to use a Gen Z term) “twinned” on the boundary count – hitting three sixes and four fours apiece. Their partnership was worth 95 runs off 48 balls.Chandimal, as usual, was strong on the leg side, that powerful bottom hand coming into play, though he also sliced a boundary through backward point when United had stacked the off side and James Neesham was attempting to bowl wide yorkers.Ashraf was just as impressive. He was strong on the leg side too, but when bowlers attempted to go full and wide, he crashed them over the cover region as well.United’s top order make a chargeThere were a few moments in which it seemed not impossible that United could run down a target of 210. These came almost exclusively during the first 14 overs. First, Sahibzada Farhan and Rassie van der Dussen hit 71 off 45 balls together. Farhan went on to make 52 off 35 – the highest individual score of the game and his sixth T20 half-century.No. 4 batter Salman Agha then produced a little gem too, scything 44 off 26, but found little support at the other end. When he departed, with 16 balls to go and 42 runs still to get, there were no more viable paths to victory for United.Usman Tariq imposes himselfMohammad Amir and Ashraf took two wickets apiece, but it was offspinner Usman Tariq who inflicted the more telling blows. His first wicket – that of Farhan – was slightly lucky. Farhan had merely mis-hit a leg side full toss but found Khawaja Nafay running in from the deep.But then there was also the wicket of Salman, which was down to a piece of utilitarian T20 bowling, going fast and wide outside off stump to a batter trying to smash to leg, resulting in a top edge gobbled up at long-on. To cap it off, he also had Naseem Shah caught in the deep. He finished with 3 for 32, which were his figures in his previous game as well.He outshone both Ashraf and Abrar Ahmed, who are now both equal second on the tournament wicket-takers’ list, with 16 apiece.

Chelsea may have emerged from last night’s game as the victors, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way.

Enzo Maresca’s side were given the relatively kind task of taking on League One side Lincoln City to kickstart their EFL Cup campaign.

However, instead of turning up and turning the opposition over like many expected them to, the West Londoners struggled for much of the game and, barring a five-minute period after half-time, did not look like a top-flight side.

Therefore, Maresca must make several changes for the game this weekend, such as dropping two starters who were somewhat saved by one of the few players who came away from the game looking better: Tyrique George.

Tyrique George's game vs Lincoln

Now, it should be said that while George did better than most of the team last night, it still wasn’t a perfect performance.

In fact, like the rest of his teammates, there were significant periods in the first half in which he was fairly anonymous.

However, unlike many of those around him, the young Englishman did step it up after half-time and, within three minutes, levelled the score for the Blues.

It wasn’t just a tap-in or a lucky shot; it was a sensational effort from outside the penalty area that was powerful enough to leave the Lincoln keeper no chance of stopping it.

Then, to further drive home the message that he should be getting more game time, the 19-year-old Cobham graduate provided the assist for Facundo Buonanotte’s goal two minutes later.

We obviously have to take the level of the opposition into account, but even so, it was an impressive showing from George, and one that saved the blushes of his teammates, including two who must be dropped for the game against Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Chelsea duo Maresca must drop

Unfortunately for Chelsea, there really are several players you could name who put in performances worthy of being dropped last night.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

However, in this instance, we are talking about Maresca’s two wide players: Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens.

Starting with the latter, the game was a real chance for the Englishman to silence all the talk about his ability and get up and running following his move from Borussia Dortmund.

Instead, he has only brought more scrutiny upon himself, as in 70 minutes of football, he did next to nothing, with his most notable involvement being a bad miss early on.

It sounds harsh, but it’s an opinion backed up by Amos Murphy of the Express, who awarded the 21-year-old a 5/10 match rating and wrote that he ‘lacked quality with almost everything he did.’

He wasn’t alone in being ineffective out wide, though, as Garnacho was just as bad, also earning himself a 5/10 rating from Murphy, who stated he ‘did very little to impress on his first start.’

Unsurprisingly, the Argentine’s statistics more than back up such an appraisal.

Minutes

59′

Goals

0

Assists

0

Touches

26

Passes

16

Crosses (Accurate)

1 (0)

Shots

1

Dribbles

0

Aerial Duels (Won)

1 (0)

In his 59 minutes of action, the former Manchester United gem took 26 touches – 31 fewer than Jørgensen – completed just 16 passes, misplaced 100% of his long balls, took a single shot on target, didn’t attempt a dribble and lost 100% of his aerial duels.

Moreover, he was the first player to be taken off in the game, suggesting the manager was just as unimpressed with his showing as we were.

Ultimately, while they may come good at some point, Garnacho and Gittens failed to perform against a third-tier opponent last night, and therefore, must be dropped ahead of the game against Brighton.

Cole Palmer facing several weeks out as journalist details "new" Chelsea injury

The England star was hauled off early in to their defeat at Man United.

ByEmilio Galantini Sep 23, 2025

Half-centuries for Smith and Booth reduce deficit after McKinney makes 153 in first innings

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay12-Apr-2025A brilliant bowling performance from Durham put them in a controlling position in their Rothesay County Championship clash with Warwickshire despite excellent half-centuries from Kai Smith and Michael Booth.Durham were bowled out for 387, adding 44 to their overnight total, with Warwickshire spinner Taz Ali mopping up the tail, picking up two wickets to give him figures of four for 66.Warwickshire’s reply started well with their opening pair putting on 57, but the visitors struggled to get a grip of the game as Daniel Hogg and Brendan Doggett put them in a spot of bother at 157 for six.However, Smith and Booth excelled with the bat to combine for a 115-run partnership which gave Warwickshire some hope of getting close to Durham’s score, but a late cluster of wickets meant that the visitors closed on 287 for eight, 100 behind Durham’s score.Resuming on 343 for seven, Ben McKinney and Matthew Potts were looking to pursue quick runs in the opening session of day two. McKinney passed 150 with a nice flick off his pads for four but the opener didn’t last much longer as he was caught behind off an Ethan Bamber ball for 153.Potts smashed a Booth delivery over the square leg boundary for six, but his excellent knock ended soon after as he was stumped by Smith off the bowling of 18-year-old Ali for 70 and the spinner wrapped up the innings in the same over when he got Doggett LBW.Warwickshire’s opening pair of Alex Davies and Rob Yates started their reply well, with Yates producing a lovely cover drive for four off the bowling of Potts.Davies then found the boundary with a super straight drive from a Hogg delivery and a few balls later he picked up back-to-back fours from the same bowler. Hogg responded though and removed the Warwickshire skipper for 38 as Davies chipped a ball to Emilio Gay, who caught excellently at cover.Hogg struck again soon after, with the 20-year-old producing a jaffa to bowl Warwickshire prospect Hamza Shaikh for a two-ball duck just before lunch.The visitors began the afternoon session in a calm manner, but they offered a huge chance to the hosts as Doggett forced Sam Hain into an edge but Will Rhodes dropped a regulation catch at first slip with the Bears batter on nine.Durham continued to probe and Yates and Hain were happy to absorb the pressure, but the pressure was too much for the former as he edged a Ben Raine delivery to second slip for 42.Hain started to make the most of his second chance as he played a lovely cover drive for four, while Dan Mousley looked good for 24, but Rhodes atoned for his drop by getting the England white-ball player LBW to swing the momentum back to Durham.Doggett was then rewarded for his hard work with his first Durham wicket as Hain edged behind to a diving Ollie Robinson for 30. Wickets came like London buses for Doggett as Ed Barnard skied one straight to the hands of Alex Lees at mid-wicket to depart for 12.Young Bears wicketkeeper Smith looked good in the early stages of his innings and he picked up three boundaries from a Raine over.Smith and Booth continued to frustrate Durham, with Smith impressing in particular as he adapted to the match situation and he got his 50 from 86 balls.Smith moved through the gears with a cut shot from the bowling of Rhodes going to the boundary and Booth got in on the act as he hit Colin Ackermann for back-to-back boundaries. However, just before close Smith departed for 79 as he spliced a Hogg delivery in the air and Gay made no mistake with the catch at third man.There was another boost for the hosts when Raine got Ali LBW for one, but Booth reached his half-century in the final over of the day and remains at the crease with the visitors 100 runs behind.

Manchester United are believed to be closing in on the signing of 16-year-old Derby County goalkeeper Charlie Hardy, even after bringing in Senne Lammens this summer. With Andre Onana out on loan and long-serving Tom Heaton nearing the end of his contract, the Red Devils are planning a major shake-up between the sticks as they look toward the future.

• Man Utd set to sign 16-year-old Charlie Hardy

  Hardy, who has represented England at the Under-16 level, is finalising a move to Old Trafford as per The Sun. The teenage goalkeeper made his Derby Under-18 debut at just 15 and has been tipped as one of the brightest young stoppers in the country. He was even on the bench against United's own Under-18 side whe he was only 14.

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  Man Utd's goalkeeper merry-go-round

  United's goalkeeping setup has been in constant transition, with home-grown talents struggling to secure long-term first-team roles. Dean Henderson briefly took the No.1 spot in 2021, but David de Gea quickly reclaimed it, and no academy product has become established since – you have to go back decades to find the club's last home-grown permanent starting goalkeeper.

  Onana loaned to Trabzonspor and third choice Heaton out of contract next summer and pushing 40, further changes are expected.

• Young goalkepers at Man Utd currently

  The Red Devils also signed Lammens from Royal Antwerp on deadline day, though the 23-year-old has yet to feature, despite settling well and impressing behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Radek Vitek and Elyh Harrison are both gaining experience out on loan at clubs in the EFL pyramid.

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  INEOS and Man Utd's goalkeeper overhaul

  A deal for Hardy is expected to be completed soon, adding another highly-rated young goalkeeper to the system, albeit one who could be a way off senior minutes. United's long-term aim is to build a competitive and sustainable goalkeeping unit after years of instability. For now, the focus is on Lammens' development and whether Hardy can grow into a first-team option in the years ahead.